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BIGZ building

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BIGZ building

The BIGZ building (Serbian: Зграда БИГЗ-а, romanizedZgrada BIGZ-a) is a building located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Designed by Dragiša Brašovan, it is one of the most representative architectural landmarks of Serbian modern architecture. A monumental building, with its position, volume and aesthetics, it dominates the entrance in the southern section of Belgrade. It remained the tallest building in Belgrade for 23 years, until being surpassed by Ušće Tower 1 in 1964.

It has been protected since 1992. In recent times it represents a significant cultural, artistic and social spot.

The BIGZ building is located at 17 Bulevar vojvode Mišića, in the Mostar section of the Senjak neighborhood, west of the Mostar looped interchange on the Highway Belgrade–Niš. Just east of the building is the Radisson Collection Hotel, Old Mill Belgrade, declared a cultural monument in 1987. Across the Bulevar vojvode Mišića, the facilities of the Belgrade Fair are located.

With its height and monumentality, it dominates the skyline and presents a reference point not only for the neighbourhood, but for the whole right Sava bank. It is also clearly visible from the highway and is a welcoming message for tourists and commuters entering old section of Belgrade from the New Belgrade direction via highway and its Gazela Bridge.

First Serbian Printing House [sr] was founded in 1831. Originally in Kragujevac, Serbian capital at the time, it was moved to Belgrade in 1835. In the next hundred years it changed address several times, but always in the neighborhoods of Kosančićev Venac and Varoš Kapija. When city administration decided to build the bridge across the Sava river in the early 1930s, (future King Alexander Bridge), demolition of several dozens of buildings for the creation of the access road became imminent, including the building of the press house.

As 1931 was a centennial of the press house founding, an architectural competition plan was announced for the new building. The edifice was to be built in the neighborhood of Kalenića Gumno. Ministry of Education announced the winner in April 1933 and it was a design by architect Dragiša Brašovan. The problem emerged as the proposed building was too massive and robust for the old section of Vračar. City of Belgrade then decided to cut several new streets through this area, further reducing the plot chosen for the building.

Ministry then decided to relocate the project and construct the building on the lot of the Gođevac brothers, in the industrial zone between the neighborhood of Senjak and the bank of the Sava. The projected edifice suited much better the industrial environment, but certain revision of the project was necessary, especially regarding the height. Brašovan travelled through Europe to visit various large press houses in order to refine his project and make it more modern and functional. He mostly used German sources.

Construction began in June 1936. The building was finished in May 1940, but the equipment wasn't installed until February 1941. It was the first building in Serbian architecture which consistently implemented structural frame made of reinforced concrete. As the building is massive and robust, to accommodate large number of printing presses which were very large themselves at the time, it is also quite heavy. The solution for the structural load was over one meter thick plate of reinforced concrete on which the entire building rests. To ease the pressure, Brašovan designed the building in the shape of the Cyrillic letter P (П), which also was the shape of the printing press.

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